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CCIE Data Center Lab, v2 – iPexpert’s Plan

CCIE Data Center Lab, v2 – iPexpert’s Plan

The announcement of the CCIE Data Center Version 2 blueprint has changed the exam that we once knew. No longer are the MDS switches around, plaguing us with the perfectly rational fears of iSCSI gateway configuration, or FCIP configuration nuances. Gone too are the days of fighting the IP protocol stack running on the ever-finicky MDS switches. While some rejoice these facts, I take a step back and try to wrap my head around “what’s next?”

At iPexpert we strive to stay ahead of the proverbial curve within the training market; so immediately after analyzing the impact of the changes (and subsequently drinking quite a bit of beer), we began planning and calculating the changes that we would need in order to adapt to the new version of the exam.

We will most definitely be updating our product portfolio to accommodate the changes. This includes, but is not limited to our:

• CCIE Data Center, Volume 1 – Technology Workbook
• CCIE Data Center, Volume 2 – Full-Scale Mock Lab Workbook
• CCIE Data Center Lab VoD
• CCIE Data Center Written VoD
• CCIE Data Center Lab Bootcamps (Live and Continue reading

Twitter warns users targeted by state-sponsored hackers

Twitter has warned some of its users that they may have been targeted in an attack by state-sponsored hackers.This is the first time that the social media website has issued such an alert, but companies like Google and Facebook have issued similar warnings in the past to their respective users."We believe that these actors (possibly associated with a government) may have been trying to obtain information such as email addresses, IP addresses and/or phone numbers," Twitter said in its notification, which some recipients then posted on their Twitter feeds.It's unclear how many users were warned, but Twitter said that only a "small group of accounts" may have been targeted. Many users who acknowledged having received the message are privacy advocates and security researchers, some of whom tweet under pseudonyms.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Fear itself: Thinking through change and turmoil

Fair warning: this is going to be a controversial post, and it might be considered a bit “off topic.”

Maybe it’s just that time of year. Or maybe it’s several conversations I’ve been involved in recently. Or maybe it’s the result of following over 150 blogs on a daily basis covering everything from religion to politics to technology to philosophy. Whatever it is, there’s one thing I’ve noticed recently.

We’re really afraid.

I don’t mean “concerned about what the future might hold,” but rather — it seems, at least sometimes — sinking into a state of fear bordering on the irrational. Sometimes it feels like the entire world is one long troubleshooting session in the worst designed network I’ve ever encountered. Let me turn to a few completely different areas to illustrate my point. Some of these are going to make people mad, so hold on to your hats — and hear me out before you jump all over me or shut down.

We’re afraid of what the future might hold for us as engineers and as people. Maybe this entire software defined thing is going to destroy my entire career. Maybe I’ll end up like a buggy whip maker Continue reading

New products of the week 12.14.2015

New products of the weekOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Array Networks vAPV Virtual Application Delivery Controller for Microsoft Azure MarketplaceKey features: Array’s vAPV Virtual Application Delivery Controller gives customers deploying on Microsoft Azure the ability to significantly enhance the availability, performance and security of cloud-based services. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

#WhoIS is BACK!

WOW it has been a long time.  It has taken life and career changes to get me back to the point that I have been able to really think about picking this up again.  I have had amazing feedback from the original audience and I am hoping to do even better for you al this …

Stretch’s Hierarchy of Network Needs

Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs from school? The theory asserts that every human shares the same set of basic physical and psychological needs in order to be happy, with more primal needs like food and shelter taking precedence over emotional needs like love and companionship.

maslows_hierarchy.png

A while back, I was pondering what would be necessary to fully automate a network, and it occurred to me that a very similar hierarchy of needs can be laid out for a computer network to achieve its optimal state.

1. A Functioning Network

At the very bottom of the hierarchy is everything a network requires to function: Routers, switches, cabling, power, and so on, just as tier one of Maslow's hierarchy encompasses everything a human needs to stay alive. At this stage, a network can function, and can even function well, but it cannot adapt or grow.

Many small businesses operate their networks at this stage for years with no major problems. After all, when left alone, computers and networks tend to just keep chugging along. And if your entire network comprises a cable modem, a switch, and a few access points, it's entirely possible that it will run for years without needing Continue reading

Stretch’s Hierarchy of Network Needs

Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs from school? The theory asserts that every human shares the same set of basic physical and psychological needs in order to be happy, with more primal needs like food and shelter taking precedence over emotional needs like love and companionship.

maslows_hierarchy.png

A while back, I was pondering what would be necessary to fully automate a network, and it occurred to me that a very similar hierarchy of needs can be laid out for a computer network to achieve its optimal state.

1. A Functioning Network

At the very bottom of the hierarchy is everything a network requires to function: Routers, switches, cabling, power, and so on, just as tier one of Maslow's hierarchy encompasses everything a human needs to stay alive. At this stage, a network can function, and can even function well, but it cannot adapt or grow.

Many small businesses operate their networks at this stage for years with no major problems. After all, when left alone, computers and networks tend to just keep chugging along. And if your entire network comprises a cable modem, a switch, and a few access points, it's entirely possible that it will run for years without needing Continue reading

Stretch’s Hierarchy of Network Needs

Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs from school? The theory asserts that every human shares the same set of basic physical and psychological needs in order to be happy, with more primal needs like food and shelter taking precedence over emotional needs like love and companionship.

maslows_hierarchy.png

A while back, I was pondering what would be necessary to fully automate a network, and it occurred to me that a very similar hierarchy of needs can be laid out for a computer network to achieve its optimal state.

1. A Functioning Network

At the very bottom of the hierarchy is everything a network requires to function: Routers, switches, cabling, power, and so on, just as tier one of Maslow's hierarchy encompasses everything a human needs to stay alive. At this stage, a network can function, and can even function well, but it cannot adapt or grow.

Many small businesses operate their networks at this stage for years with no major problems. After all, when left alone, computers and networks tend to just keep chugging along. And if your entire network comprises a cable modem, a switch, and a few access points, it's entirely possible that it will run for years without needing Continue reading

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Cloonix Network Simulator updated to v28

The Cloonix development team recently released a major update to the Cloonix network simulator.

Cloonix version 28 makes major changes to the infrastructure of Cloonix. It changes the installation procedure, the location of Cloonix files on your computer, and the names of the commands used to start and administer Cloonix.

cloonix28-110

Cloonix version 28 also makes changes to the features available to users. It adds support for multiple Cloonix servers running on the same machine, and standardizes and documents the new interface types used to connect virtual machines to each other.

Read the rest of this post for more details about what’s new in Cloonix v28.

Using Cloonix

In this post, I wrote some examples to show how to use the changed features in Cloonix v28 but I will not discuss the basics of using Cloonix because I assume the reader is already familiar with Cloonix.

If you are not already familiar with Cloonix, you should read the Cloonix documentation. Also, I have written many posts about using the Cloonix network simulator. Please check these posts if you need more information about using Cloonix.

Install Cloonix

The procedure to install Cloonix v28 has changes slightly — one new software dependency has Continue reading

Tor hires former EFF chief as executive director

A former Electronic Frontier Foundation executive director will lead the Tor Project, the widely used anonymity tool that frequently comes up in debates over encryption and privacy. Shari Steele was selected in part for her experience in growing non-profits and "will be especially valuable as we continue our campaign to diversify our funding sources," wrote Roger Dingledine, Tor's interim executive director, in a blog post. Steele spent 20 years at the EFF, starting as a staff attorney, then legal director and eventually executive director.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Obsessive Efficiency Disorder

I read this blog post from Mattias Geniar and I think he gave a name of a concept I had in my mind from years. It started a while ago when I tried to find a more efficient ways to do my daily work and it got bigger and bigger up to be almost an… […]

Custom events

Measuring Page Load Speed with Navigation Timing describes the standard instrumentation built into web browsers. This article will use navigation timing as an example to demonstrate how custom sFlow events augment standard sFlow instrumentation embedded in network devices, load balancers, hosts and web servers.

The JQuery script can be embedded in a web page to provide timing information:
$(window).load(function(){
 var samplingRate = 10;
 if(samplingRate !== 1 && Math.random() > (1/samplingRate)) return;

 setTimeout(function(){
   if(window.performance) {
     var t = window.performance.timing;
     var msg = {
       sampling_rate : samplingRate,
       t_url         : {type:"string",value:window.location.href},
       t_useragent   : {type:"string",value:navigator.userAgent},
       t_loadtime    : {type:"int32",value:t.loadEventEnd-t.navigationStart},
       t_connecttime : {type:"int32",value:t.responseEnd-t.requestStart} 
     };
     $.ajax({
       url:"/navtiming.php",
       method:"PUT",
       contentType:"application/json",
       data:JSON.stringify(msg) 
     });
    }
  }, 0);
});
The script supports random sampling. In this case a samplingRate of 10 means that, on average, 1-in-10 page hits will generate a measurement record. Measurement records are sent back to the server where the navtiming.php script acts as a gateway, augmenting the measurements and sending them as custom sFlow events.
<?php
$rawInput = file_get_contents("php://input");
$rec = json_decode($rawInput);
$rec->datasource = "navtime";
$rec->t_ip = array("type" => "ip", "value" => $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']);

$msg=array("rtflow"=>$rec);
$sock = fsockopen("udp://localhost",36343,$errno,$errstr);
if(! $sock) {  Continue reading
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